00:00Hey, it's Francia Raiza, and I'm in studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:06So the second half of Grown-ish season two premieres June 5th on Freeform,
00:11and it picks up right where we left off, where Zoe is about to find out about Anna,
00:16your character, and Erin, her ex, that you guys are hooking up.
00:19So how can we expect her to react to that?
00:21Well, kind of shocked the way that we kind of left her off.
00:25I don't think you really know how to react with something like that,
00:28like putting myself in her shoes, like hearing about a friend hooking up
00:33with someone that we used to hook up with.
00:36And even in the trailer, he was like, you know, we've been naked together.
00:40So it's just like a lot to take in.
00:42So I can imagine her feelings are all over the place and angry and confused
00:47because she's in a relationship, so why does she care?
00:49And I just, you know, it just questions about her life.
00:53Do you think Anna broke girl code by doing that?
00:56Because it is kind of complicated.
00:57Zoe's dating Luca now, but, you know, she was with Erin.
01:01You know, that's such a complicated question for me to answer
01:04because as an older woman, I'm like, that's not cool.
01:08But when you're younger, it's kind of normal, I guess.
01:12That happened a little, well, that happened a little bit with some friends
01:15because think about it, when you're in school,
01:17that's who you see every single day, mind you.
01:19There's so many guys around or people around,
01:21but it happens where it's like, hey, like, I kind of like him, whatever.
01:26And I noticed it back in high school and I didn't go to college,
01:28but it just was a conversation and it was cool.
01:31But as you get older, it's not.
01:33So as an older woman, I'm like, yeah, she broke girl code.
01:36That wasn't okay.
01:36But I think being younger, you know, some, you know, one of my best friends,
01:41her best friend dated her ex.
01:43It was her, like, freshman year was her sweetheart
01:45and then sophomore year they were, like, together for a while.
01:48So back then I didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
01:51But now I'm like, that was wrong.
01:53So it just, it kind of depends.
01:55Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like a friend broke girl code?
01:58Um, or not really?
02:01No, not really.
02:02That's good.
02:02Yeah.
02:03My friends and I have really different tastes of men.
02:06And then it always works out well that way.
02:08Yeah.
02:08Yeah.
02:09It worked out well.
02:09And now my boyfriend, they're like, he's hot.
02:11I'm like, I know I got him fixed.
02:12Like, and he's mine.
02:13And he's mine.
02:14And checkmate.
02:15And on the show, what does now the future hold for Ann and Zoe's friendship?
02:19Yeah.
02:21I'm glad they touched on this subject because friendship,
02:25I think you go through different stages of life.
02:27I think this just helps them grow in forgiveness and grace
02:31and understanding and communication.
02:35So I think there's going to be a lot of all of that in the future for them
02:39and just, just a little growth period for each one.
02:42For Anna and Aaron, what can we expect for the future of their relationship?
02:45A lot of fun.
02:46Okay.
02:47Like they've been having.
02:49And, um, there's a little twist that happens, um, towards the end of the season.
02:55A little twist that I'm curious to see how the audience reacts to it.
02:58But I, as an artist, had a lot of fun, um, bringing this to the table.
03:02It's very exciting.
03:03A little tease of what's to come.
03:05I'm trying not to give away too much.
03:07And now for Zoe, she can kind of be sometimes immature and selfish.
03:11Even with Anna trying to tell her about her relationship with Aaron.
03:16Right.
03:16She kept on trying to tell her, but Zoe was kind of so in her own world
03:19with the academic probation thing and everything going on.
03:21Yeah.
03:21She didn't even hear it.
03:23Well, Zoe's always in her own world.
03:24It's her world and Luca's world, which is funny because with her friends,
03:27it's like Zoe, Zoe, Zoe.
03:28But when it comes to Luca, it's very much what Luca wants and what Luca needs.
03:32And if he wants to be vegan, okay, I'm vegan too.
03:35If I want to watch this movie, okay, I'll watch this movie too.
03:37So I think she's really definitely learning balance.
03:41And I think with this, uh, situation that happens between her friendship with Anna,
03:45it's definitely going to help her center herself a little bit and kind of realize a lot.
03:48And how do you think Anna will evolve and change this season?
03:51Wow.
03:52Anna, Anna put herself in a situation.
03:55She definitely did.
03:56I, I really wanted her to loosen up this second season because I felt like she was so uptight
03:59first season.
04:01And I think she loosened up a little too much.
04:03That happens in college.
04:05You know what I mean?
04:05You're like, how do you live in your life?
04:07Listen.
04:07Figuring out who you are.
04:08Yeah.
04:09And you got to do it when you're young.
04:10So I'm glad that it happened to her at a young age and, you know, just not in the real
04:13world
04:14because there's more consequences in the real world.
04:16So I think she's definitely going to learn a lot of balance.
04:18And the show definitely touches on that.
04:20You know, these young kids in college figuring out who they are and growing up, when you look
04:24back at yourself when you were 19 or 20, what's something you know now that you wish
04:28you would have known then?
04:30It's not the end of the world.
04:31I mean, I, queen of, my life is over.
04:34This is never, I'm never going to come back from this.
04:36And, you know, I'm still alive.
04:39Things are forgotten.
04:40And I think one of the things that I have to even remember is, you know, sometimes I
04:44run into people that I knew when I was 19 or 20 and I haven't seen them then since.
04:48And I feel like I'm that age again when I see them.
04:51And I'm trying to justify my actions or speak as I'm still 19 or 20.
04:56I'm like, I'm not that person.
04:57So it's okay.
04:57You know, it's part of growing up.
05:00It's part of growing stages.
05:01You, you learn, you're not the same person.
05:04You don't have to act like the same person when you run into them just because that's
05:07how they knew you.
05:08And that's been a challenge that I've been kind of enduring.
05:10So I think I would tell her it's not that serious.
05:13It's okay.
05:15Everyone will forget.
05:16Move on.
05:16And you've opened up in other interviews about kind of growing and evolving, becoming
05:21more confident with age and coming into your own in Hollywood.
05:24How do you feel like you did that?
05:25A lot of therapy, a lot of church.
05:28I'm very open about therapy.
05:29And I, I was, I was depressed and I was going crazy.
05:32I just felt like I was really trying to meet everyone else's expectation of me.
05:38So I didn't know what my own was.
05:41And I was trying so hard to make it in this entertainment industry that I was just trying
05:44to see what worked.
05:46And, um, I just couldn't do it anymore.
05:49I was crying all the time.
05:50I was depressed.
05:51You know, my friends had an intervention.
05:53My acting coach said, I need you to go to therapy.
05:54I'm not going to coach you.
05:55So I had to get some serious help.
05:58And, um, I just started learning to say, that's not my voice.
06:02Even if I sometimes don't understand what that means, I know that that doesn't feel right.
06:06So I'm going to say no.
06:07And I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen?
06:09Like someone says, okay, or I don't agree.
06:12Okay.
06:13Well, you know, it's not me.
06:14So, um, it's still a challenge and it's hard.
06:18And every, you know, the person that I was when I turned 30 is not who I'm becoming as
06:22I'm going to 31.
06:23So it gets confusing because I'm like, okay, do I still like these things?
06:27Am I still like that?
06:28Or what's going on?
06:30But it's just part of growing.
06:31I've just learned to accept it.
06:32And, um, something my therapist said is nothing in life is fair.
06:36Nothing is logical.
06:37And once you accept that, you'll understand freedom.
06:40And you've also opened up about being a Latina in Hollywood and how, when you were younger,
06:43you used to feel kind of pressured to fit a certain stereotype or look or act a certain
06:48way.
06:49How did you overcome that?
06:50And what was the turning point for you where you decided, I'm not going to care about that
06:54ideology anymore of like trying to fit into a certain mold and I'm just going to be me?
06:57Um, I think the same situation was I was in therapy and I was trying to figure myself
07:01out.
07:02Again, I was really trying to make it and whatever worked for whoever, you know, became the big
07:07hit at the time.
07:08Like I always refer to Sophia Vergara because when Modern Family came out, like it blew up
07:12and I've known Sophia since she was like doing novelas.
07:15And so all of a sudden it was, okay, you need to wear a tight dress.
07:18You need to get an accent.
07:19You need to be loud.
07:20And I'm like, guys, that's a character she's playing.
07:22Also, like if that's her, that's her.
07:24Like I can't pretend to be that.
07:26I don't have an accent.
07:28I lost it when I was little.
07:30I, I, you know, this is me.
07:32So, um, I did feed into it for a little bit.
07:34And then as I started getting to learn myself a little more, I realized I don't want to
07:39dress that way.
07:40And I, I, I don't want to be loud.
07:42And honestly, a lot of women coming out and just speaking their truth has made me become
07:47a little more brave and talking about myself and, um, wanting to, to really be myself to
07:53kind of encourage other people.
07:54Cause it's hard right now with social media and television and people being more spoken
07:57and, um, it's, it's hard.
08:00I can see even myself, I look at JLo, I'm like, I wish I was you, but you know.
08:06It's not healthy.
08:07It's like you gotta own who you are.
08:08Yeah.
08:08It's not healthy.
08:09You gotta own who you are.
08:10You really do.
08:11So again, therapy.
08:13Well, and speaking of speaking your truth, just recently on Twitter, you wrote an open
08:17letter to Constance Wu and about how she was upset about her show getting renewed.
08:22Cause then she didn't get to do another project.
08:24What inspired you to write that?
08:25And why'd you feel it was important to do that?
08:27It sucks when you can't do a job.
08:30And I just kind of wanted to put a bit of perspective out there.
08:33Um, I've been in that situation where I couldn't do something and I would, and it could have
08:37changed my life or it could have put me in a situation, in a, in a level that I'm not
08:41at right.
08:42Or I want in the industry.
08:44And I just wanted to put a little perspective out there because that's something I had to
08:47tell myself, like, you know what, maybe this went to someone that actually needed it.
08:50So, and I really wanted her to, you know, look at the glass half full rather than half
08:54empty.
08:55Like, okay, that didn't work out, but it's an opportunity for someone else.
08:59And that even goes back to, you know what I mean?
09:01Like being a Latina in Hollywood and speaking up for minority women, it's like you want
09:05to give everybody an opportunity.
09:06She's done so much.
09:07You know, the fact that Crazy Rich Asians worked meant so much for all of us.
09:12The fact that Little is working means so much.
09:14The fact that Gina Rodriguez is doing what she's doing means so much because it's opening
09:19so many doors.
09:19I just wanted to put that into perspective for her.
09:22And, you know, I was going back and forth.
09:24I don't even know if she saw it, but I really, I just wanted to just say, hey, this is
09:29what
09:29you did for me.
09:29So this sucks, but like, thank you.
09:31And now also on Freeform, you were in Life Size 2 with Tyra Banks.
09:35And she is receiving tons of praise right now for her new Sports Illustrated cover, for
09:39speaking out about body positivity and self-love.
09:42Have you seen that?
09:43What was your reaction to that?
09:44I loved her cover and everything about it so much because that's who I know.
09:49That is who I know.
09:50When we shot Life Size 2, I kid you not, I brought a huge suitcase because I was like,
09:55I have to like dress nice and I have to have my fashion game up.
09:59And she was so chill.
10:00She brought a carry-on.
10:01We were there for over a month with three dresses and she rotated them.
10:05She was eating.
10:06She's like, girl, I love food.
10:07We went to the spa and we were in the hot tub and she was just like so like chill.
10:13So when that came about and she was speaking about the way that her body is transforming and
10:17everything, I was like, that's who I know.
10:19And it was really nice for me to see that because I've always admired her my whole life basically.
10:24Well, we can't wait to see what happens the rest of the season on Grown-ish and how Anna
10:28evolves and what happens with Anna and Erin.
10:30So thank you so much for-
10:31Me too.
10:31I haven't seen it.
10:32I don't remember, but thanks.
10:34I don't before.
10:34I don't know.
10:36I don't think so.
10:36I don't know.
10:37I don't know.
10:37That's what I meant.
10:38I don't know.
10:38You
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