- 2 days ago
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03:00She has consistently shattered glass ceilings throughout her career.
03:26As the only woman to ever host the long-running syndicated show Greatest Sports Legends
03:32and a pioneer in the fitness industry with her revolutionary Love Your Body exercise videos,
03:38Jane's impact on American culture and her role in advancing representation cannot be overstated.
03:44Without further ado, guys, I want to introduce none other than the iconic, the legendary, Miss Jane Kennedy.
03:51Give her a round of applause, everybody.
03:53.
04:05One more time.
04:06One more time for the young man.
04:09There's your mic right here, Miss Jane.
04:12We'll cut it on.
04:13There we go.
04:14All right.
04:15So I'm so grateful that the good Lord gave me the unction to wear a suit today.
04:21I haven't put a suit on in a while.
04:22We did not do this on purpose.
04:23This is divine timing.
04:25Divine timing.
04:26So, Miss Jane Kennedy, I first of all, again, I want to thank you for being here.
04:30It's an honor to sit across from you.
04:33It's my honor.
04:34And we talk about divine timing, and I want to kind of dive right into Plain Jane.
04:38For you, you've done a lot of things over the course of your career.
04:41You're a trailblazer, nonetheless.
04:43But the timing of this book couldn't be more divine.
04:45For you, why was now the time for you to share your story?
04:49Actually, I started writing this journey 25 years ago.
04:54So I didn't know when it was going to be released, but that was in God's hands.
04:59And so when the time was right, it was today.
05:02And so my book will be coming out this fall on Audible and on Disney's Endscape in print.
05:09And it was important to me to write the book at all just because I wanted to share my journey in my own words.
05:18I've had so many people tell my story, and they've gotten it wrong.
05:22They've gotten it twisted.
05:23They don't know what they're talking about.
05:25So I wanted to tell my own story, and it was important to tell it in my words,
05:31which is why I was so happy to land the agreement with Audible.
05:35You mentioned about people telling parts of your story or your entire story wrong.
05:39How did you handle that?
05:41How does one sit and watch or listen to people get it wrong over and over again
05:46and still be able to move forward in the greatness that you have?
05:49Well, you know, sometimes, unfortunately, back in the days when I was working,
05:54which was, what, 50 years ago, we didn't know.
06:00We didn't know.
06:01There was no internet.
06:02There was no YouTube.
06:04There was no way to find out what other people were saying except in Jet Magazine
06:09and Johnson Publishing, and that was it.
06:11And the Johnson family took me in, and they were such a blessing in so many ways.
06:16But, you know, to be able to find yourself and know who you are is what I rested on.
06:23And it didn't matter to me what other people said about me.
06:26It was that I wanted to be true to myself.
06:29When I left home, I said that if I ever go to become a star,
06:33I still want to be Jane Harrison from Wycliffe, Ohio.
06:37And that was important to me, and that's what I strove for.
06:40What's the side of you that you're really, really excited for people to see in this book?
06:46Because you mentioned, you've said before, I'm just plain Jane.
06:50People see all the accomplishments.
06:52They see the beauty.
06:53They see everything else.
06:54What is one thing you're really, really excited about people getting to dive into with this book
06:58about you that they may not have otherwise known?
07:00I'd like for people to see the real me.
07:03And, you know, there's so many thoughts about, you know, like in my first marriage,
07:09about how, you know, I was controlled, which was not true.
07:12There were things that happened in my life that so many people projected about me that weren't true.
07:18And they, I mean, even the things about simple things like, you know, she was the first black to be crowned Miss Ohio.
07:28Well, that's not true.
07:30I mean, it's such a simple thing like that.
07:32Because the, previously, the first winner of the Miss Ohio crown, she was reneged or, you know, something happened that she had to give up her crown the very next day.
07:46And then the second runner up was a black woman.
07:49And she began, she began, became Miss USA.
07:53I mean, Miss Ohio.
07:54And so I'm the second one to win the Miss Ohio title.
07:59But little things like that, you know.
08:01And then there are major things, major things that people get wrong.
08:05When I was fired from CBS, you know, everybody said, oh, she quit.
08:09She quit.
08:10What's wrong with you?
08:11She quit that show?
08:12You've let down black people.
08:14The Chicago Defender said she let down the entire country in terms of how black people see themselves and the possibilities.
08:23When she closed that door.
08:24And that's not what happened at all.
08:27Actually, I was fired.
08:29I was doing my job right.
08:31But they wanted Phyllis George back.
08:34And so they found a way.
08:36They fired me three times.
08:38They fired me the first time.
08:41And I said, well, that's not true.
08:43Because I had signed to do a show with NBC.
08:47I said, that's not true.
08:48I came to the president of CBS Sports and I asked him if I could.
08:52And he gave me a handwritten permission.
08:55So when I turned that permission in, they hired me back.
08:59Wow.
09:00And then the second time they fired me, they said, well, she can't do the job if she's doing two jobs all at once.
09:07And I said, well, that's not true.
09:09Brent Busburger is doing two jobs at once.
09:12I'm on now.
09:13Are you saying that a man can do it but a woman can't?
09:16So they hired me back.
09:18And then the third time, it was so generic, I didn't have an option.
09:24And so they ended up paying out me the end of my contract, which was ridiculous.
09:30Ridiculous.
09:31Ridiculous compared to what so many other people were making in the world of sports journalism at that time.
09:38And, you know, people don't know those stories unless I tell it.
09:43I have to ask you, Ms. Jane, I'm listening to you say they fired me, but I went back.
09:50And I said, no, wait a minute.
09:52They fired me again.
09:53I went back and I said, no, hold on a minute.
09:55As a black woman, sometimes it's very difficult, or at least we feel that it's a little bit challenging,
09:59to challenge the systems that we're in, whether we may have a financial need, whether we're just fearful in general.
10:06Where have you been able to dig the courage from to be able to go and speak truth to power like you have over the course of your entire career?
10:15Well, that's very true, and I have had courage to do many crazy things, unbelievable things, and it's because I believed in myself.
10:25And that became a part of me because of my family, my mom and my dad.
10:30They told me to never stop dreaming.
10:33When I told my mom that I was going to move to Hollywood, I really thought that I was going to have an issue with the family,
10:40because I was only 17, and, you know, I just know it was going to break their heart.
10:48And back then you didn't have communication like you do today.
10:53A telephone call could cost you $5.
10:56We didn't have $5 to be spending on telephone calls.
11:00But my mom said to me, Jane, she said, you're meant to be here for a reason.
11:08You're here to do great things, and that is not going to happen in Cleveland.
11:13And if you have to go, then you have to go.
11:16And that was it.
11:18That was it.
11:19That was the only response that I got, you know, and they were happy.
11:22They sent me off.
11:23And, you know, they've been able to benefit in a lot of the things that I've done.
11:27When I was a Dean Martin Ding-a-ling sister, and I would travel the country doing shows,
11:33they would come to the shows.
11:35Wow.
11:36They would come to the shows.
11:37My dad, at his job, was called Ding-a-ling Daddy.
11:42So, I mean, the whole family benefited.
11:45And I remember my brother, who was only six years old, when I left Ohio.
11:50And that was so hard, because he was so sad one night, the night before I left.
11:57And he said, can we go for a walk?
11:59And we went to the end of the road.
12:01It's a dead-end street.
12:02We went to the end of the street, and neither one of us was talking.
12:07And I could tell he was sad.
12:09I was sad.
12:10And we got to the end of the street, and we just stood there and looked at each other.
12:15And finally, he had his hand in his pocket.
12:17Finally, he pulled out a penny.
12:20And he said, I want you to have this so that you'll never go broke when you get to Hollywood.
12:27And my family is everything for me.
12:30I've gone back to see them many times.
12:33I've invited them.
12:34My mom was with, oh, gosh, what's his name?
12:39He used to co-host for the Johnny Carson Show, Ed McMahon.
12:43Ed McMahon did a Mother's Day special and invited my mom to the special.
12:48Hey, it didn't matter what I did after that.
12:51Mom was on television watching Ed McMahon, who she used to watch from her little TV from her hometown in Wycliffe, Ohio.
13:00I think that's amazing that your parents, your brother even, gave you permission to dream.
13:06I think sometimes, you know, we don't all have that story.
13:09And we're trying to pull from other people or other things to give us the courage enough to go after it.
13:15That's also why I love your book, Plain Jane, that's coming out.
13:18Audible, September 2nd, pre-order now.
13:21Shameless plug.
13:22But Worthy Brug as well.
13:24But with that said, I feel like this is your opportunity for those who don't have a parent or a loved one to push them out the door and say, go do your thing.
13:33It gives them permission to have that same courage that you've had your whole life.
13:37So as you've listened to your voice come through in this book via Audible and this project, how cathartic was it for you to hear back your own story?
13:49Was there something new you learned about yourself in the process?
13:53That was an interesting experience with everything I've done in my career.
13:57Because I used to be the person that they say, you can't do that.
14:00You can't do that.
14:01You're not going to be taken seriously if you want to be an actress.
14:05You can't go and dance.
14:06You can't do this.
14:07And I've never listened to any of that.
14:09That's the only don't that I did.
14:11And so I was always the one that was out there trying to make things happen, trying to do something different, trying to advance my career.
14:19So, you know, to be able to then turn all that around and see all the different things that I've done and then to be able to write it into a book form, which I never imagined that I would ever do.
14:32And then I look at it and Audible says, you're going to do the recording.
14:41I'd never done a book before.
14:44Of all the things that I've done, I'd never read a book before on Audible.
14:49And I said, okay, God, you're taking over on this one.
14:58I showed up at the studio and I was so excited the very first day.
15:02But I have to tell you, it was a process.
15:04I was very nervous the first two days.
15:07Then I started getting the swing of it.
15:09Then by the end, I said, we've got to go back and redo the first two chapters because I know I can do better.
15:15But, you know, there were times that I laughed.
15:18There were times that I cried.
15:19There were times when I was angry and those words came through.
15:23And they came through in my voice.
15:32They came through in my voice.
15:36No one was taking charge of me anymore.
15:40This was my story.
15:44In my voice.
15:47And I hope that you see that.
15:50I hope that you feel that.
15:53I hope that you hear my heart.
15:55I hope that you hear my hesitations.
15:58I hope that you hear the terrible things that happened and how that impacted me.
16:05I hope that you hear the joy.
16:07I write about the whole fourth, third quarters about my family.
16:11My girls, my two girls, Copperjoy and Zaire Alia are here.
16:16And that's how we are.
16:18We support one another in everything that we do.
16:21My other two daughters, Cheyenne and Savannah Ray.
16:26Savannah lives in Dallas, Cheyenne in Los Angeles.
16:30But we are a family.
16:32And family means everything to me.
16:34And that's why you didn't see me for a long time.
16:37Because I wanted to be there for my children.
16:40I remember the last year that I worked full time and I was only home 27 days of the year.
16:49And that was not a way to raise a family.
16:52And I decided then and there.
16:54Got some tissue coming for you.
16:56Thank you, sweetie.
16:58That's when I decided then and there that I wanted to be a mom because I wanted to have the most amazing children that I could.
17:08I don't care what field.
17:10I don't care how.
17:11I just wanted them to be confident, intelligent, and supportive with each other and know that they are sure of who they were.
17:21That was important to me.
17:23And so also the benefit of doing Audible in my own voice is now they have the opportunity to see and hear my story,
17:35maybe things that they've never known about me before.
17:38Let's give it up for that.
17:40You're trying to make everybody cry in here, Miss Jane.
17:46I do want to stick on motherhood for just a moment because I'm not a mother yet, but I hope to be at one point.
17:51But a lot of the women in my life that are mothers, they say there's no book for it.
17:56You learn as you go.
17:58You figure it out as you go.
18:00Mommy guilt is a real thing.
18:01Raise your hand if you experience it.
18:03Look at all these hands.
18:05So with that being said, I do want to give you an opportunity to kind of give yourself a pat on the back.
18:11Is there something about you being able to be a mom to your beautiful girls that you are so incredibly proud of,
18:17especially as you kind of reflect and you think about all that this book encompasses as well?
18:23Can you repeat that?
18:25Absolutely.
18:26Just thinking about where you are in your life, thinking about Plain Jane, this amazing book that's coming out,
18:31and thinking about the mother that you've been to your daughters.
18:33Is there one thing that you're most proud of in terms of how you've mothered?
18:38One thing.
18:40Because I know it's hard sometimes for moms or parents to sit back and say, I'm a great mom.
18:46I did this.
18:48They're in the back saying, one thing, mom.
18:50Don't do a whole bunch.
18:52But this is your moment too.
18:54So if you've got more than one, it's okay.
18:56I can't say a moment about Copper, Zaire, Cheyenne, or Savannah, because then it would be four things.
19:03But the one thing that I feel that I did right was I was part of a family that knows what a family is,
19:14a family that has trust in each other, a family that has a lot of love.
19:19We talk to each other at least 20 times a day, whether text or voice or whatever, but we're in touch.
19:29I remember when Zaire was on a study abroad, and she was in Brazil.
19:36And she, after four or five months, she was like, we could tell she was really sad.
19:43And Thanksgiving was coming up.
19:46The rest of my daughters jumped on a plane and went to stay with her for 10 days
19:52and let her know that, hey, we are here for you.
19:56And that's what we all have to do as a community too.
19:59We have to let each other know that we are here for each other.
20:02And that's what I feel that's part of my driven purpose.
20:06Because so many times we feel that we are all alone.
20:10I have felt all alone many, many times.
20:13Some of them are in the book.
20:15Some of them are not because they were too hard to tell.
20:18But, you know, those feelings of being alienated, we don't grow from those.
20:25So, you know, if my family can be an example for other families, I think that that is an incredible gift that I can give to way more people than just one or two.
20:37And that's important to me.
20:39You mentioned that there are truths that we'll get in the book.
20:43You mentioned that there are truths that we won't.
20:45And being someone like yourself who's been in the spotlight and experienced so many ups and downs in your life, both personally and professionally,
20:53what do you do with those truths that you can't tell?
20:56How do you maintain your mental health, especially as you continue to move through your life in this particular stage?
21:02I call my girls because Bill don't want to hear it.
21:11I call my girls and then I call my therapist.
21:16And then I go that night, I pray to God.
21:19That's it.
21:20That sounds good.
21:21That sounds like a great strategy to me.
21:23I want to turn the table a little bit, turn the corner.
21:25Let's talk a little black women in sports.
21:27We think about just all the trails you've blazed in that respect.
21:31We look at it now.
21:32We look at women like Taylor Rooks and Erin Andrews.
21:34I got to throw Kimberly Martin in there with ESPN and Pam Oliver.
21:38And you've seen these women kind of come behind you and do great things.
21:41First of all, how does that feel for you to know that you've been a huge part of them being able to walk out their dreams?
21:48And also, is there something that you would like to see change in that regard for black women to get more opportunities in the sports space?
21:58Okay.
21:59I have to first start with, you know, in the beginning, there was no one that was my mentor.
22:05Because there were no other women in sports doing the job that I was doing.
22:09And then, unfortunately, a lot of people say all the time, she's the first black woman to do sports broadcasting.
22:15But I was the second woman to do sports broadcasting ever.
22:21So white, black, brown, green, whatever.
22:25It was just the two of us.
22:26Give her a round of applause.
22:27Can you all please clap up for that?
22:29It's huge.
22:30It was just the two of us.
22:32And since then, when Phyllis left, I think it was 1983, and there has never been a female on the desk of the NFL today since then.
22:46Wow.
22:47So we were the only two women to do that show.
22:50And now we have a lot of other shows coming up, but still, in that type of a format, there still has been no one that has had the experience that the NFL today did and the impact that that show did.
23:04And Brent, I remember him, because, you know, like I was going into the interview, and I said, I begged my agents to submit me because I knew I could do the job, and I loved sports.
23:16So he said, no, they're not looking for a black woman.
23:19I said, but I can do this job.
23:21And so he wouldn't submit me.
23:23He submitted three separate lists, got turned down each time, still would not submit me.
23:28So I went and said, I'm going to find my own way.
23:31So we called Jim Brown, and Jim called Bob Stenner, who was a field producer for CBS Sports.
23:38And he said, go call George Wallach, who was the manager of Bruce Jenner, Caitlyn Jenner.
23:46And I met her.
23:50She came to Los Angeles.
23:51She said, you'd be perfect for this job.
23:53Wow.
23:54And she said, I'm bringing you to New York.
23:56And so we get to New York, and there are 16 people there.
23:59And they said it was the greatest talent hunt since Scarlett O'Hara.
24:04They had interviewed so many people, they ended up with the 16 that they brought to New York.
24:10So we're in the room, and we're trying to figure out, you know, like, there's no way I'm going to get this job.
24:17They were all blonde.
24:19The other 15 were all blonde.
24:21I said, this isn't going to happen.
24:23So anyway, I ended up kicking back.
24:27And we didn't know who we were going to be interviewed.
24:30It was going to be a segment with the Brent Mossberger, a segment on delivering teleprompter, and a segment with an athlete.
24:37But we didn't know who that athlete would be until the night before.
24:41No Google, no Instagram.
24:44Libraries were closed.
24:45So you were on your own.
24:47So a friend had told me, you know, just make sure that you're all blonde.
24:50Just make sure that you become a friend.
24:52Because you're intimidating, Jane.
24:55I said, I did not know that.
24:57Interesting word to use.
24:59So he said, you have to just let this person know you're a friend.
25:03So we get to the audition.
25:05And all the girls are in hair and makeup, and they get ready to leave, and the three guys walk in.
25:10So they rush all three, and I'm sitting there watching.
25:13I didn't rush them.
25:14So they all get their little quotes, and they go to their dressing rooms.
25:18And so then I walk up to the guy that I'm supposed to be interviewing, and I said, do you play backgammon?
25:25And he said, yeah, because I'd seen a board in the corner of the room.
25:29And I said, I love backgammon.
25:30Would you like to play a game before we go on?
25:32He said, absolutely.
25:34We played for about an hour, and by the time we got on set.
25:38An hour of badgabbing?
25:39By the time we got on set, we were old friends, just like the guy told me to do, become a friend.
25:46So when Brent Musburger finished the interview, he got up and he said, it's Jane or nobody.
25:51He said, it's Jane or nobody.
25:53The athletes love her.
25:55She knows how to listen.
25:56It's Jane or nobody.
25:59I want to, you're such a great storyteller.
26:04I find myself getting caught like, what else?
26:06And I'm trying to cut myself off saying, no, don't tell the rest.
26:10You are literally one of the most challenging people to interview because you tell such great stories.
26:15As we kind of round this thing out, I do want to move back to the book, Plain Jane.
26:20And actually, no, I want to do this.
26:23At Vice, we have a lot of young black women who are going to descend on this city this weekend to enjoy Essence Fest.
26:32We have women who have grown up watching you, who are standing here in awe that they're even able to see you on this stage.
26:39As black women, we all have our own set of challenges.
26:42We have our own set of choices that we have to make.
26:44For you, what advice would you give to black women today who are trying to break into any field where they're still underrepresented, sports or otherwise?
26:55I think it's really important to find a mentor, someone who's your ride or die, that no matter what happens to you, that you can still hang on.
27:04Because when you're on your own, it can be self-defeating.
27:09And that's extremely important that you find someone.
27:12Unfortunately, in that time, there was no one in my capacity where I could go to.
27:19The only person that actually reached out to me to assist me was Marla Gibbs.
27:24And that was in the mid-1970s.
27:27And that was before I started on the NFL today.
27:30And Marla Gibbs, she tells great stories.
27:33And one of them, it's off track.
27:36It's off track.
27:37And then ask me the question again because I don't want to forget it.
27:39No worries, I got you.
27:40But Marla Gibbs tells a story about she went into the rehearsal and she went up to Roxy Roker and she said,
27:49How much do you make?
27:51And she said, I think that's kind of personal.
27:55Why would you want to know how much I make?
27:57She says, well, because I just thought you might want to know.
28:00I just went in to renegotiate my contract and I got a lot more money.
28:06Thought you might want to know.
28:08And Roxy Roker, she took off to the production office.
28:12But that's what we need.
28:16We need that kindredship.
28:18We need that.
28:19We need that support.
28:20But, you know, it was very difficult to find that in the 70s and in the 80s.
28:25And then people today, they're talking about as if it's, you know, when I did a show called A Seat at the Table for TNT just a couple of months ago.
28:34And it was with Taylor Rooks, Pam Oliver, and Stephanie Reddy.
28:39It was a generational event.
28:42And so we had the four of us, me being the first, and then Pam Oliver, and then Stephanie Reddy, and then the last one being Taylor Rooks.
28:51And it was very interesting because we were telling our stories and Taylor Rooks looks at me and she says,
28:59I didn't know any of these stories.
29:01And she's the youngest one there.
29:03She said, I didn't know any of these stories.
29:05I wasn't aware that any of these happened.
29:07I thought that, you know, I can go through my career and this is just normal.
29:11I didn't realize the fight to get to where I am today.
29:14So that's why it's important to tell our stories.
29:17And your question was?
29:19And it's interesting because you answered it.
29:21Oh, okay.
29:22You said mentorship was important.
29:24And your daughters are signing off on the back.
29:26You said mentorship was important.
29:28It is, it is.
29:29It is.
29:30We have to advocate for ourselves.
29:31We do.
29:32We have to educate ourselves.
29:33We have to know our history.
29:34We do.
29:35And know who blazed trails before us.
29:36And we have to be willing to reach out.
29:38Yeah.
29:39And bring others behind.
29:41And I'm totally willing to do that.
29:43I'm hoping that plain Jane will do that.
29:45Absolutely.
29:46And I'm hoping that people will see that anything is possible.
29:49All you have to do is believe in yourself and find someone who can support you when you are down and you don't believe in yourself.
29:58And they need to kick you in the butt and say, you know, come on, step up.
30:03Yeah.
30:04Step up.
30:05You can do this.
30:06What an amazing way to wrap that up.
30:08You wrap that up for me.
30:10The only thing I have to say is make sure you guys pre-order plain Jane on audible.
30:16I've done so.
30:17I'm a huge audible fan.
30:18It literally takes five to 10 seconds.
30:21Make sure you do that.
30:22You'll be able to access the book on September 2nd.
30:25One more time for the icon herself.
30:29Jane Kennedy.
30:32Thank you guys so very much.
30:36Oh, if you guys do want to do a meet and greet with Miss Jane Kennedy, you want to take pictures.
30:45We're right around this corner over at the audible station.
30:48You guys can do that.
30:49Okay.
30:50So make sure you get your pictures and say hello.
30:52Thank you guys.
30:54Yep.
30:55Yeah.
30:56Good one.
30:57Yeah.
30:58renewed.
30:59Thank you guys.
31:01Yeah.
31:04Wood kمكن.
31:05Lessons on coverage.
31:06Sure.
31:07Of course, sir.
31:08It's simply not i was taken.
31:11How do you here on 여러분?
31:13No, absolutely.
31:15Was it the potrze of you?
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