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Fran Lebowitz is back to talk all things ‘Then and Now.' The legendary writer and cultural critic returns to Harper’s BAZAAR to weigh in on the state of the world today— from fashion and literature to technology and politics. Using her signature wit, watch as she sounds off on why men still aren’t dressing well, why revenge can be the most satisfying feeling, and why children don’t belong in restaurants after 9 p.m. She also talks modern attention spans (or the lack thereof), the complacency of tech billionaires, and the importance of always being angry.

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People
Transcript
00:00I think there should be a separate plane for children that has no seats.
00:03Just let them race around screaming their heads off. No seats at all.
00:07I am Fran Leibowitz, and this is then and now for Harper's Bazaar.
00:17We talked about fashion last time. Do you think men are dressing any better?
00:21It's totally adolescent. At best. I mean, sometimes it is pre-adolescent.
00:25I was in Baltimore. I check in the hotel, and it seemed to me at first,
00:30this place is full of baseball players. Why are all these baseball players staying in this hotel?
00:34So I tell this to the guy at the hotel. He said, they're not baseball players. They're baseball fans.
00:40In this country, you see men dressing very, very poorly.
00:46In Europe, people dress much better. I mean, there's just no question that that's the case.
00:52In New York, people dress much better than they do outside of New York.
00:55Did you track any of the new debuts, like the new Chanel designer?
00:59You know, I don't go to shows anymore. Jonathan Henderson's good.
01:02I thought that show was good. But most people don't wear those clothes.
01:05See, the thing is, yes, are these designers good? Yes. Are those clothes good? Yes.
01:09You're not going to see that many of them, you know, and you're certainly not going to see them in
01:13an airport.
01:16We did talk last time about revenge being personally very satisfying.
01:20Has that remained true for you?
01:23Yes, I find revenge in the instances I've been able to take it very satisfying.
01:27OK, this guy did something. And then five years later, the opportunity came and I took it.
01:35And this is years ago, but it was so delightful that I still recall it.
01:38Have things gotten any better since we last spoke?
01:41They are much worse for everyone except Donald Trump.
01:45Seems like some of those tech guys are doing well, too.
01:48You know, the thing about these tech people, every single thing they want, approval from the government, they shouldn't have.
01:53Because every single thing they want is bad for everyone except them.
01:57Truthfully, they've always been like this. In other words, this idea that they used to be leftists and now they're
02:02right wing, they were businessmen.
02:04You know, a business is a very simple entity that has one goal, which is to make a profit.
02:09It doesn't matter whether it's a lemonade stand, you know, or, you know, Google.
02:13It makes no difference from that point of view.
02:15Do I think they like Trump? I have no idea. Because let's face it, he's not really likable.
02:19You know, he's not like he's, well, who could resist that charm?
02:22Trump's so easy to figure out. He really wants you to like him.
02:26I don't want to blame Meryl Streep for Donald Trump, but I really believe if Meryl Streep had once said
02:32hello to him, we wouldn't have to deal with him.
02:35He would have lived on that for the rest of his life.
02:36He would have gone around saying, Meryl, do you see Meryl Streep said hello to me? I said, hi, Meryl.
02:40She said, hi, Donald.
02:41So you can't say it's Meryl Streep's fault, but you kind of can.
02:43We did talk about RFK Jr. briefly last time. He told me he's going to make my life a whole
02:49lot worse.
02:50But I feel like I could not have anticipated how much worse. Are you surprised by what he said?
02:55No. I mean, the first shock is that he has this job.
02:59Almost no one in the Trump administration is qualified for their jobs.
03:02We can't go backwards fast enough. I remember when they invented the polio vaccine.
03:05If he's going to be against that, they better buy wheelchairs because these viruses still exist.
03:13Why do you think we're not growing up? What do you think has happened to our attention spans?
03:18Artists I know. Very, very good artists. I said something to this guy about his son.
03:23He should see this movie. And he said to me, he doesn't like movies. I found this shocking.
03:27He doesn't like movies. Why? They're too long. That's a bad sign, I think.
03:33They have an expectation of a certain kind of pace of things. And if it's not met, they are bored,
03:39I guess, by it.
03:40One thing I do notice, even with kids who are very smart, who've had tremendous cultural advantages,
03:45know very little about things that happened before they were bored and they feel justified in this.
03:49They'll say, well, no, I didn't know about that. You know, I wasn't even born then.
03:56It's just an absurd thing to say. I always say, well, I wasn't born during the Civil War, but I
04:00heard about it.
04:00I don't know what they teach in school anymore, frankly.
04:03There's a lot of hand-wringing right now that kids can't finish books or can't read books.
04:07That's not true. I agree.
04:08You know what? On the subway, mostly you see people on their phones, okay?
04:12But when you see someone reading an actual book, it's always someone in their 20s. It's always someone young.
04:16Like, that is when I become incredibly nosy, because I always want to know what they...
04:20Anything is good, but I was like, like...
04:23I'm always trying to look, what are you reading? It's like...
04:26I actually had a question for you about rage and if it was ever helpful and what people should be
04:31mad about.
04:32Well, what should they not be mad about? I don't know. Like, you know, I have been angry since birth.
04:36So I'm not maybe the best person to ask. Like, because, like, I am so angry all the time that
04:42I barely have other emotions.
04:43So I'm not suggesting that's the best way to go through life. Although I don't understand why people aren't angry.
04:49Very last thing, just because I read something you said about restaurants and I wanted to know what made the
04:53perfect restaurant experience.
04:54I got to dinner. Like, 9 o'clock. Children should not be in the restaurant.
04:58They're there at 9?
04:59Oh, they're there. Okay. So, sometimes babies. Babies should be home. You know what people say?
05:06But then they can't go out. Then stay home. Look, no one made to have this baby.
05:10Okay? I like babies, by the way. But not in a restaurant. Okay?
05:14And I don't like a 5-year-old kid in a restaurant at 10 o'clock at night.
05:17Because they don't have very good manners. I think there should be a separate plane for children that has no
05:23seats.
05:23Just let them race around screaming their heads off. No seats at all.
05:27Even the parents might be happy for that. Goodbye, sweetheart. We're getting on the adult plane.
05:33And we'll see you when we get to San Francisco.
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