How Tracee Ellis Ross Embarrassed Her Mother Diana Ross | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

can you watch yourself are you. absolutely refreshing as much as. possible my God I'm on a loop in my. house even on the bathroom and the. toilet. no on the bathroom in the toilet on the. TV in the toilet I don't even have a TV. in the toilet you can tell cuz I can't. even say that um I love that very. comfortable watching myself I like. watching my work back for numerous. reasons I particularly on blackish and.

stuff um being able to see how. something's being shot what's being. covered what's working what isn't. working I'm not I'm very vain but I'm. not very critical of particularly with. acting like I I like when my face does. weird things when I watched Candy Cane. Lane my response was oh great my wig. didn't look Wiggy and boy do I make. stupid facial. expressions I mean the camera cuts to me. and I'm like what the my face is. like I I love how stupid my face is you.

know it feels to me like I just love. that my it does dumb things and I I'm. not cuz you know you look at some. actresses sometimes and the camera comes. back to them and they're. like and you're like what is that what. is that are you putting mascara. on are you embalmed yeah exactly you. know it must it's interesting because I. wonder if having growing up with such an. iconic mom in music and singer and I. mean it's just and and in movies if you.

knew early on oh I can be really funny. in a way that sets me apart it's my. thing does that make sense you know. um it it uh in one sense it wasn't on. purpose it wasn't a conscious sort of. shift but like when I was 22 my mom said. to me it's time for you to record an. album because I sang All Through growing. up um and I was like no way like I it. felt too scary I don't know that I. consciously went towards being funny but.

my dad my personality is like his he's. hilarious and I loved Carol Bernett and. Lucille Ball growing up um and I felt a. real kinship with that kind of screw. balless and the ability to kind of not. care what you look like um which is I. think because I've never done standup. although I really want to um but the. ability to kind of have that freedom in. your body yes um but it definitely has. been my path you know um I mean my name. is Jo my middle name is Joy I wonder if.

it's sort of I just came out kind of. bubbly right but um I don't know it's. such an interesting thing I think I grew. up always wanting to be a woman in a. sparkly dress on a stage um and I I got. me too. right how's that going H RIS treatments. um more expensive than I thought uh it's. like skiing. yeah what's funny because one of the.

things you said that I can uh relate to. is I love one of the things I've always. loved about comedy is um there's no. vanity like I I never think about how. there are some I'll admit there are. sometimes lately with highdea cameras. and as I age where I'm like oh my God. couldn't someone have told me that half. my face rotted off before we shot that. thing but but but mostly couldn't they. have done some like taped that up a. little bit before or put some Vaseline.

on the street on but mostly I know that. if people like what I'm doing it's not. because they want to break off a chunk. of that they're just I'm sorry that's a. phrase that's going to stick horse I. want to ride that horse and then break. off a chunk just no just no I'm going to. have nightmares okay sorry well that's. what I do for women but but I like but. but I like the surrendering of uh vanity.

that that goes a lot with comedy and and. you know it's you referen Lucille Ball. and what people often forget and you. don't think about it is you know you and. Lucille Ball are very beautiful women. who then do comedy really well and so. there's this thing where you can I mean. Lucio ball was St stunningly glamorous. but felt nothing about oh yeah put a. prosthetic nose on let's have it catch. fire or let's have me crying and have my.

face contorted let's have me stuffing. chocolates into my mouth as as you guys. create recreated on the emms the other. night like this is just something that. that I love is is the surrendering all. that yeah sure I can look amazing if I. want to but I'm doing this right now I. think there's also for me like a sense. of Pure Freedom where like every choice. is is yours um and that for me that it's. like literally from my little toe.

to the hairs on my head get to. participate in the the thing I'm doing. um and I just and and I do love that. there's no vanity involved there really. isn't for me it's I think the uglier I. look the better I think it is um I think. it's funnier um when there's a. selflessness to how you lean in there. that Lucy bit was I think I it was you. Natasha Leon uh recreating the chocolate. conveyor belt at the I do believe I. literally we went on stage I was like I.

mean the little girl in me was jumping. up and down she was like so. excited and so excited um and then they. forgot the prop of the. papers oh we had it in every rehearsal. and I was trying to explain because. people like it was so funny I was like. but you have to understand if you. understand comedy if you have nowhere to. go and you have to start at the top then. it's not you can't do the thing you do. because there's nothing to work from so. it was slapstick and we went there was. fine I went there I mean I was I got to.

tell you guys an hour later after we. took the wig off on the eyelashes I took. the the smok thing off and there was a. piece of. chocolate it was like it had it had. melted so it was from up here it was. like from between my boobs down to my my. like the top of my underwear and it was. just mush chocolate everywhere and then. the caramel was all that was left so it. was just like a piece of caramel on my. belly.

button that's it was fantastic I stuffed. a lot of chocolate in my gown in my. little. dress it was dropping out while I was. reading the presenting cuz it has to be. yeah there's just a trail of chocolate. following you wherever you go yeah I was. I was thinking about Amy Sedaris who is. also um she's a very attractive person. who goes out of her way and has her. whole life to tap up her note do.

anything she could wear old lady's. clothes she was doing this when she was. a kid and it would drive her mother. crazy cuz her mother was saying you're. an attractive young woman what are you. doing my mom would always say fix her. face why are you making all those F like. what she would she I would be telling a. story and she would like touch between. my eyes and be like I'm. like I'm trying to tell a story sorry am. St no I'm the same I'm just I mean your. poor. mom just. uh don't I mean my mom with me I was.

constantly contouring my face and and. doing over-the-top bits and she would. say your face is going to freeze that. way it's going to freeze it's going to. freeze and I thought well first of all. that would be cool cuz I could go. through life like you know. like it did freeze that way yeah I could. work in the circus and it would just be. like I don't know be a lot of fun I it. wasn't it I didn't I wasn't scared of my. face freezing but when I did over the. top bit she you know she was.

and and I think. if there's this there's this it's this. on this podcast we never get to grad I. won't allow it no no I'm going to say I. have one but I'm not going to tell it. you guys I have two great funing them. yeah yeah there's no time anyway so the. other day I'm having this beef stew and. this beef stew it had beef in it you. guys beef in it who knew all right go go. tell us these but I mean talking about. we're talking about contorting your. faces mom's responses so one was I My.

grandmother used to say that it was. Tracy had the 12-year-old the. 10-year-old Giggles 11-year-old and then. it was just like okay they're not going. anywhere and so I was like I was just. getting out of my. body I was like it's dinner. time and it would drive my sister crazy. Rhonda was like oh my God and my mom was. like Tracy would you like to go outside. and get the giggles out and I would be. like I would I would like to go outside. and get the giggles out so I would go. out of the the door the sliding glass.

door outside dinner my family's in there. just eating dinner and I'm out like. bouncing outside the door and I'm. like I'd come back in and I'd be like. she' be like did you get him out be like. I don't know no I think there's more and. i' go back out go back so that's one. story and the other po poor mom trying. to do her best old diner off sitting. there like oh my God I made a problem. child so then the other is when I moved. out here to I had my mom is Diner Ross.

just for reference on this story I I. take full responsibility for her career. anyway um you made her I did if it. weren't for me I don't know those. Supremes ain't no mountain high enough. what the boss who knew no one none of it. Central Park concert that was my idea. your idea anyway so so when I moved out. here to La I had my version of no money. so I'm just going to be honest my. version of no money was like I had my. mom's credit card I was living in a. beautiful apartment but I had no cash.

okay so I used to do things that I could. do with the credit card like I would go. I would ask people if I they wanted me. to get them gas or like at dinner I'd be. like I'll pay give me the cash like I. was like an ATM right so I made a video. a DVD it at the time it was a VHS video. um of me doing all my characters because. I used tell stories as these different. people so I dressed up in all these. different there was Madame I who I still. do uh there was suie Sushi there was. Broadway girl who was singing an improv. Christmas holiday song um all this stuff.

and then I old school edit them edited. together and I sent out 52 videos to. everyone in my world saying happy. holidays and at the end of it it said no. judgment happy holidays and it was me. like doing a ridiculous it was. insane um I go home for Christmas and my. mom's. like can we talk and I was like yeah. what's up let's go to my room oh. you know if your mom wants to bring you. to the room so we sit down on the edge. on the side of her bed she's sitting.

next to me she was. like how many of. those she was so serious how many of. those videos did you send out I said 502. and she was like can we get them. back I was like what. no I think she literally was like this. is a comment on my parenting like I. failed my child and she has sent out.

like a calling card of like the failed. parenting oh my God she I she later. understood but I do think it was a. little bit like what have I done like he. was going to end up on Inside Edition of. what is Diana Ross doing to her children. children like the other to do 35. characters try dancing for her. wees and.