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TV: You also said right at the top of this show, “Everyone is in a panic about Gen Z. I think we’re okay.”
GM: Yeah, I do.
TV: What I thought was interesting is that a lot of your part on the show is about your career, this niche that you’ve carved out for yourself, which strikes me as very Gen Z.
GM: I think it’s very Gen Z to be doing many different things and doing them on your own track and own timeline and not having a boss. I don’t believe in resumes. I plan on never submitting a resume again in my life. We’re on a good trajectory for that, I’d say. I think Gen Z was very open from a young age to so much information. I think other generations could see that as a bad thing, but I think it’s actually been used, surprisingly, as a way to kind of diversify interests and hone in on other interests, you know?
TV: You opened up recently about having an eating disorder and seeking treatment. What spurred you to be public about that?
GM: I feel like people knew, people could just see from my Instagram that something was very wrong. So I felt, in a sense, that an explanation was owed — not that that’s something you need to feel is owed to people, but I did feel like that’s something I wanted to share. And then I think on top of that it was just, my story felt very specific and unusual until I opened up about it. And then [other people were saying], “No, I felt these exact things and I have these exact manifestations of an eating disorder.” I almost thought for a while that what I was going through wasn’t as important or as serious. Once I opened up about it, the floodgates kind of opened with that. So that was really special to be able to talk about that more publicly.
TV: You’ve also talked about how jarring it is to see Reddit threads talking about your body. Even the hand washing thing, just like being this polarizing figure or someone who’s subject to this kind of scrutiny. How have you been coping with that?
GM: I think you have to just not engage with it. Your brain is, in a sense, like an AI machine where whatever you tune into, it learns and grows. So, I just try to tune out all the comments, negative or positive. I like to remain in a state of self-referral, which just means not really considering what people have to say, good or bad.
TV: Do you have an update on the bowling alley club?
GM: Oh my God, the bowling alley club. You have to watch season two. It’s sort of taking a back burner for other things that I feel I need to do right now. It might surprise people, but it feels very authentic to me. That does not mean it’s never going to be done. It very much will. We’re just shifting priorities.
TV: Tell me about filming season two. How is it going away?
GM: It’s been interesting. I’d say everyone is opening up a lot more this season and really getting into the groove of it, where I think there was some like cold feet [last season] because we didn’t really know what we were doing or what we were getting into, which was I think a big factor why not everyone went 100%. Now, literally everyone is giving 100%, which is cool to see and I think the audience will appreciate that.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
