Quinta Brunson On Amy Poehler's Good Hang Podcast Is A Must-Listen For Women

It feels like something we’re born with as women: We play down our success. From the very extreme, like telling our family and friends how shocked we are about receiving a promotion that we know we’ve worked our asses off for, to the very mundane, like responding with, “Oh no, I’m seriously such a mess” when someone compliments our style or our home or our vibe. We’ve been hardwired to act blasé about our achievements, to push aside the feelings of pride we feel in ourselves. We’re supposed to be surprised by our accomplishments, to make sure everyone knows that we weren’t trying to win — it just happened. We’re expected to be humble and never brag about how well we’re doing, how smart we are, or how hard we work.

And on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, Quinta Brunson completely exploded that behavior for me.

Amy Poehler’s new podcast has been a delight, featuring guests (so far) like Quinta Brunson, Tina Fey, Martin Short, Rashida Jones, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn... you get the picture. They’ve all been lovely interviews and have made me laugh and feel joy, but Quinta Brunson’s April 8 interview really just demolished a chunk of my brain in the best way.

In her episode, Poehler speaks with some of Brunson’s former coworkers from BuzzFeed, where she got her start. If you were an Internet person around 2014 to 2016-ish, you probably recognize Brunson from some of the extremely hilarious and viral videos she made with BuzzFeed. Her former coworkers share with Poehler how determined Quinta always was, how funny and smart she’s always been, and how they heard about Abbott Elementary — the hit ABC sitcom Brunson created and stars in — the minute Brunson thought of it. Now look at her.

So when Poehler starts chatting with Brunson about her work, she brings up a question one of her former BuzzFeed colleagues shared: What would 2014 Quinta think of Quinta now?

It's a sweet question, meant to make you look inward and really think about who you are and where you're going — and Brunson was to the point. "I think 2014 me would be like, 'Exactly. Period.' Because I was a very determined, knew-where-I-was-going girl. I do not like to do that thing where people pretend like, 'I had no idea this could happen to me!' Like, no. I made every single move in my life so this could happen to me."

When I tell you this answer of hers cracked me wide open. Yes! You did that sh*t. You worked hard; you did specific things in your life because this is where you knew you wanted to go — where you knew you would go if you just kept working hard enough. Brunson continues to share that she had a vision even when she first started at BuzzFeed. It wasn't just a job; she was putting a plan in motion.

Poehler then says she feels like Brunson has this energy — which Poehler calls the "Chalamet" after Timotheé Chalamet's SAG Awards speech where he said he wanted to be the "greatest of all time" — of owning her success and her achievements. She mentions that she feels like women are expected to be surprised by their own success and that she and Brunson are similar in the way that they refuse to pretend like they didn't want these things to happen or that they didn't see them coming.

"Yes, of course luck. Yes, of course privilege. And yes, of course time. And also... I believed it could happen," Poehler says.

Brusnon fully agrees, but also shares that she loves that Poehler is that way and hasn't "sacrificed her whimsy." Because here's the thing: Not only are women supposed to be extremely humble and pretend like it's all a surprise, but they're also judged for loving what they do, for being confident in it and having a good time, and continuing to try new things.

Brunson says it's almost expected of women who are confident to also be harsh and more masculine and to never smile again. If you're going to say, "I'm good, and I know it," there's this expectation that you have to be a b*tch about it. You can't smile and laugh and have a good time and find joy in the things you are good at.

And how true is that? It's one thing to be successful, but to also be a woman who's successful and loves it? A woman who truly enjoys her success and wants to keep growing and trying new things? Whoa. Get in your lane, lady. Stop making everything about you. Don't you see how bad you look?

Nah, boo. Quinta says we look damn good like this. And we're going to keep going.

Amy Poehler's Good Hang podcast has been such a balm for my soul, but this episode... I've listened to it roughly 10 times already. I have it saved for my 10-year-old daughter to listen to. I want to quote it to everyone I meet and cross-stitch it on all the pillows. I want Quinta's voice in my head when I'm faced with the fruits of my success so that instead of shying away and hiding and saying, "Oh guys, it's nothing," I can say, "Hell yeah! Look at this! I worked so hard for this."

Because other women are watching. And they need to feel this level of confidence and pride, too.