What's good? What ups mustle? You're checking out the Cruise Show podcast to
subscribe? Here we go. Jason Lee is here Hollywood on Locked Christ ninety
two to three. Jason Lee, how are you, buddy? What's going
on? I feel great to be back here. I have a new setup.
You know, y'all get money now. Don't say this. iHeart money,
dollar. This is none of ours. This is actually on loan.
Right, We're not even supposed to be in here, so we get kicked
out in mid interview. Don't worry about it. We'll figure it out.
All good, Jason Lee, congratulation me out before too. You know,
I don't know if they kicked you. A shout out to Tom Pollman.
Where the money? Come on? Stop playing? Have you been kicked out
of anywhere else? Like a party or an even like? Was it embarrassing?
I mean the last time I got kicked out of a place, which
is very rare because if you kicked me out there there are consequences. I
kicked out of Drake's birthday party once. Yeah, by Tristan Thompson. Tristan
Thompson had security. Yeah, keep me up. I didn't know I was
getting kicked out. I was walking to the front to go get h to
meet Larsa Pippen, and as I got to the front, I was politely
pushed out And when I turned around, they were just like, yeah,
they helped me out the party. Let's go. Wow. Are you sure
it was an official kickout or was it just kind of like busy and I
was kicked out? Damn? But I love Drake so much that you know
it was it was. It was an honor to be kicked out of his
party. Very love. They did it so secretly too, from what you're
saying. They're just kind of like, okay, well a gentle push.
Yeah, they followed you out, go a little bit further, almost there.
It's all good. Yeah, man, A lot has changed, have
you changed? Yes, I've evolved, evolved, that's right. A lot
of growth, man, and we see it on the ground, We see
it all over the place. Congratulations. You're holding it down for your city
of Stockton, which desperately needs you. Yes, I mean Stockton needs a
lot. I always tell people that, you know, Superman is not a
real person, so I can't save Stockton, but I do believe me.
Going back launching my nonprofit Hollywood Cares, foundation, the Iron Ratey Initiative,
which I started ten year years ago and the city didn't buy into it.
The city leadership and the establishment pushes out now that I have more resources,
more platform, bigger voice, a lot of time, a little bit more
money, go back and do good and then decided while I was there to
just run for office and just won in the primary. So here we are.
Congratulations. It's crazy, right. You set up an office, beautiful
office, by the way, everything looks great. You welcome the town.
They come in, they're having coffee with you. Yeah, they're asking you
questions, and you say you could ask me whatever you want. Yeah,
I'm an open book. I literally have a book. And you know I
talked about Yes, sure have a book. So I'm an open book.
You asked me any question. If you look at all my shows, you
know, my shows used to be real wild. They still wild, but
it used to be real reckless. So everything I've ever thought about has been
out there. And I'm still me. I mean, I haven't lost the
edge, and I'm still going to have a big opinions. But I just
understand right now my voice has a lot more influence, and I know what
it is now so I have to be a little bit more responsible. I
can't be as reckless all the time. Was there a particular instance or moment
that helped pretty quick in that matter? I think in therapy, just trying
to align everything of what I want to be with who I am and where
I am now. It's just just there was some places that were all off
right. Like I used to say a lot of things to just get people
going on social media because that's part of getting people's attention, and when doors
didn't open for me, I knocked them down. And sometimes I bulldoze over
people to do it. But now I've seen it and I still will do
it. That's the thing I'm trying to tell people. They're like, they're
like, are you sure we want to vote for him? He's messy.
Politics are messier than anything I've ever done. I still actually made for it,
but I'm being very careful because I'm not giving them too much until I
get elected and then they get all to me. Oh yeah yeah. But
have you encounter judgment because of who you are and your social media presence from
people but in your face? It to my face, But I think that's
something you can counted throughout the year, so it's almost like it's prepared for
this moment. No, it still sucks, right, it hurts more.
It hurts more. And when it's people that you know from back home,
and then and then when it's black people out of people who look like for
you, and then you know, when it's people who you know, know
you can help the city, you know, But I think people had a
lot of personal interest and a lot of things to protect. There's a lot
of skeletons that are falling out of closets, and you know, I came
out of the closet a long time ago. I'm sure I have no problem
helping those skeletons find their way out. And as we start exposing more and
then showing people that they deserve more, they're like, damn, wait,
I can actually live a better life. Yeah, and it doesn't take a
miracle to make it happen. What do you want to do for your town?
I totally want to transform my So I'm running for District six, which
is the South Side, which is predominantly black and brown. Lots of opportunity
from economic development, job creation, job growth, I mean the city.
I can go on and on. There's no clinic there. They need resources,
the resources and you know, entertainment Hollywood unlocked. I want to unlock
Hollywood and bring them there to do business and to bring nightlife, entertainment stuff
for kids and families to do it. There's a lot of stuff to do.
What's the biggest difference, I guess you would say, like trying to
navigate being in going into politics and now you know, you obviously have Hollywood
u lock, where people's like, oh, well, he's just Hollywood unlocked,
Like what does he know about Polico? Yeah, well, I mean
it's almost like, well, first of all, that's what I think has
been the most interesting part because my story didn't start at Hollywood Unlocked. That's
when people got to know me because I do it on camera. I do
it for the world to see. But before that, I work for a
union for eleven years. I mean, I've worked at every level of a
union when you are organizing in a grassroots way, helping build power for workers
at the work site. And then before that, I worked in probation.
Before that, I worked in education. So I've had so many different lives
as a working class person that I mean, I didn't lose that. I
just became an entertainer, did my job very well, built a very successful
company, and now I have the time and resources to go back and get
back. Yeah, it's just what people have seen. So like you as
Hollywood and locked, they haven't seen what you've done with if there's also people
that look at look at somebody who comes out of prison, you'll look at
them as an ex convict. Now they're in a box, that's all you
see them as. There's still somebody's son, dad, is still somebody who
has an opportunity to earn redemption. And like people believe and they buy into
the belief that they're the sum of one experience and one mistake or one job
or one moment, we're an evolving experience. I'm evolving. I'm not going
to be perfect. I'm going to make mistakes, like I tell people,
I'm going to make decisions that people like or don't like. But I'm going
to always lead with intention and do what's best for people. What about Latinos?
Are they showing you love? Are they showing support? They are?
Are they showing up? They're showing up? Let me tell you you know
what's crazy. So somebody hit me up and say Hey, man, you
got to come meet with me. I gotta teach you some phrases and tell
the Latinos. I said, Man, I'm going to talk to them like
a human being. I don't know Spanish, so if they want to teach
me some shit, if they want to teach me, I want to learn
it. But I'm not going to come in and say, hey, let's
go over here for you know this moment and speak a language to get your
vote. No, I want to earn trust. I'm not earning votes,
so I'm earning votes by earning trust. Right, So I think when I
went back, one thing they tell me. I met with this guy who
leads the farm workers and he was saying, you know how they spray pesticide
on them in the fields, and how they how they had a recent serial
killer there and the person was targeting Latinos and the community that's forty four percent
Latino. They don't even offer translation service at city hall. So instead of
making it a campaign promise, like let's wait until January when I get in
two thousand and five, and I won't call them mare, I said,
listen, if you don't make this policy happen right now, where you offer
translation. I'm gonna go alive and tell them that you don't like Mexicans and
you're not gonna get elect two weeks later. Now out for translation. It
is good for you, Jason. The things will be done when people want
it to be done, and when you press them. I'm gonna press them,
Jason said, I will drag your ass fulfilled. But the way that
you but the way that you all know me, have known me over the
years, that's how I'm going to be leading. So, my man,
the conversations of the city hall, I ain't going to be because those people
or most of them, like, there's one guy out there right now.
His name is Brando. He just recently got accused of like molesting his niece
or something crazy. Right, whole family's career, criminal politicians. You know,
this is a guy who told me he didn't want to help the kids
in my community and want you to go ask your rich friends like Rihanna and
Floyd Mayweather to help them. This is person I'm gonna be sitting by.
So if he thinks I'm not going to get up there and be me when
I'm sitting next to him, he's God bless him. He's crazy ready,
Yeah, they not ready? Man, congratulations, you're doing a lot of
work. You're doing the groundwork right. You're showing up and you're showing out,
and you're there for people, and people want to speak to you and
have a lot of questions for you. You're being extremely honest with them,
and you're there with your heart and your family. Right. Yeah, my
family's here too. You know, my family has been helping us find a
real grassroots campaign. And the people that are watching this right now saying,
but that's the guy from love and hip hop, But that's the guy.
Yeah that is. And you know what I will say this, You know,
everybody looking at where we're going with the even with the presidential election and
how the world has changed around us, you got to become the change you
want to see. I'm not going to give up my cool last day job
to go and be of service. I feel like everybody should do their part,
whatever that part is. But you can't. You know, when I
sit and watch people complain about oh, well this is going this way,
or the Democrats or the Republicans, well shit, what you're gonna do about
it? We're gonna sit back and let the story be told. And you
be a bise standard or are you going to actually jump in. I'm choosing
to jump in the game. And that's it, you know, wind loser,
draw. At least I could say I did my best part as a
friend of Rihanna's. Have you heard any music questions coming? Huh? Nope,
not nothing. Yes you have playing, Yes you have. You don't
talk about tell them what you told me the other day and privately about that
song with jay Z on it. No, I'm making stuff up, I
promise you. What's crazy. I never talked to her about her music because
that's just not what we be on. Yeah, she doesn't necessarily want to
talk about that either though, right. I mean, she'll bring up stuff
which I'm not going to talk about, but I don't. I don't.
I don't talk about it. You don't go fishing for the music, nah,
I don't fish for nothing, because I you know, it's just an
honor to even be a you know, talking to her, I've realized that,
like a lot of times when when talking to artists like you actually get
a better conversation when you talk about completely different stuff, whether it's close,
whether it's just right life. So you know, I couldn't come here without
dropping the name. Everybody watching knows I'm a name dropper. Let me tell
who I was with the other night. Give it to him Jackson. Literally
the other night, I get a call to go hang out with Bad Bunny.
Okay, go hang out Bad Bunny. You know what we talked about
all night? Hookah, hookah, hookah. He has flavors. He has
a hookah man walks around with a backpack and pulls out a hookah at any
moment. And we went to two parties in l A, which you know,
we never see hookah at a party. Really like you gotta go to
a lounge, and he had the hookah man pulled up everywhere we went back
there. His name was Crazy. He'll pull out a hookah and we would
start smoking hookah. What's his favorite flavor? I don't know the flavor because
I was too nervous to ask. Was it more like men flavor? It
was a little minty, minty blue men. I don't know it was it
was good adaring it? Or did you have your own I have my own
things? No, no, my own piece. How quicker you do identify?
Like a messy question as it on folds or you know, my mind
is already working ahead of time. Right. So, like, I just
interviewed Safari on my show, which is probably one of the episodes broke because
I kept asking about the time I heard that Nikki allegedly tried to stab him.
Right, I heard this long time ago, and I had him on
my show. He's sitting there, might as well ask him. And so
I asked him every messy question I could think about, and I could.
You know, I try not to make a guess uncomfortable, but because so
far as such a good friend, I intentionally made him I can. Yeah,
I asked, it's the Lord's work. The Lord or to not be
happy if I don't do this, right, that's right. Speaking of how
are you and Beyonce? Things are rough, things are okay, things are
not, things are not okay. Let me clear there, Let me clear
that things ain't never rough. For me. I sleep well at night.
My my thread count is so high, I don't even know what Beyonce is
one of the greatest, if not the greatest artists to ever live. I've
said on my show. I think she's I said she's greater than Michael Jackson.
People have been said about that you know, I know that's the generational
debate that I'm not going to have. Keep your beads and your bees off
my page. I think that Beyonce is a great artist, but I also
think that everybody is subject to criticism. She's not God, So why the
people that have made her a god have made it impossible to criticize her.
I simply criticized somebody on her team and she just had to take a stray
for it. But you know, we clearly are looking at Diddy now.
Everybody's not above reproach. You know, everybody thought they were the king Queen
of the hill. You all will have your day. I love Beyonce.
I spent a lot of money to see her on tour. I'm going to
go see her at thousands thousands. Will continue to support her. But you
know, her team she needed. She need to judge up the team a
little bit. You know, the way she got rid of them girls in
the group, she may need to get rid of a couple of people on
Is it the team or the fan base that's the big problem. The beehive
is a beehive is great, right, but they'll also build up an artist
so high that you know, the artists may feel a way beyond move away.
Beyonce deserves to be built up that I because she's but the people around
her who are employees think that they're Beyonce, and those are the people that
ruin the image, the credibility, the cachet of the artists. I'll tell
you, like dua Lipa's publicis, I don't know who you are, but
you're a problematic person. And a next time I see you'm gonnake a picture
you just put on my social media. This person intentionally avoided black media on
the carpet during the Grammys. We do a lipa and went all around us
to get to these other people when do a lipa. I'm assuming would have
stopped for us had she noticed that we wanted to talk to. Sure,
But it's the people around the artists that I've always found to be problematic.
Yeah, to your Priorgreyia runs into that a lot. Yeah, they're the
word artists, and they ruin it for artists. They speak for the artists
in many ways, and they may not necessarily know what they're doing. And
guess what, you don't really need them. All you need is some college
kid who needs to write, who knows how to write a press release.
When you are dual LIPA, you can have you can have yours, your
intern call up to this show, my show, any show. We're going
to book you whenever you want to come, and who you are. It's
always the publicist fighting to maintain a job that they barely got and are no
good at. Some of you can't even spell the press releases, need a
press release. But it's those people, the gatekeepers to this imaginary gate that
social media is eliminated, that are the problems and saying no to things that
could further the artists that can help them in a major way, right exactly.
That's why a lot of you are unemployed now because your artists can't afford
you, because nobody's buying their ship because you're not bringing them to wear its
hot. Yeah. Yeah, that's why there's so many cuts, right.
I mean an artists are not selling tours, labor, they tickets are not
selling right, Like ask artists like when they see them pull up with a
lot of people say yo, what the fuck's you're overhead? Like, bro,
like are you making that much money? Because it's insane. I feel
like there's a lot of things that it's not really necessary. You're right,
like publicists, they're not. So I don't want to describe to a publish
certainly is here to raise a war against I have a lot of amazing publicist
friends. Hate on all publicies. I just think that like, for example,
you saw Wendy Williams that special she has right, that publicist driving her
around. I know Wendy personally, I've never seen this person. This person
asked Wendy, who was clearly delusional, do you want to go to the
Oscars. Wendy Williams likes talking about celebrities, showing like being on carpets with
the celebrities, so that in itself was showed me like you want to to
take yo, I'm running for city council. Raggedy ass up there for the
Oscars and be that plus one on the carpet so you can network and build
that cachet of doing a TikTok that she was somebody special for it. You
know what I hate when motherfucker's do it for the look. That's what I'm
saying. I hate that shit. I can see through a place so quick,
it's like, bro, you just can smell it. You just got
you hit up. You texted somebody last minute broke, can you get me
in? And you just flicked up and then you left back home and act
got you. You were in no disrespect to my publicists. But I was
watching something the other day, how you saying all this? And my public
one of my publicists was in the background of a celebrity doing an interview,
intentionally being seen on camera, and I wanted to text them. I ain't
gonna say the person and say why you all in the why you all in
the middle of the interview because you want to be seen? And look,
I'll criticize other people's supposes, but I gotta do my own as well.
They all do it. It's like, if you want to be the star,
go get some talent, then start tiktoking or whatever you do. Whatever
these people do, you know before gets banned and then become the star.
But other other than that, get out the way. Yeah, for sure,
do your thing, your job, do your job. Have we Texteddy?
Are we in contact? I'm not texting Diddy? No, Look,
there's no want that on record. No. Look look let me say it's
thought about texting them, But what do you say. Here's the issue that
I have with all this right, I don't know Diddy. Everybody assumes because
I had to show honorable and that I've been to some Diddy parties that I
know what you've been doing home been do his own. But if you're in
LA and you found out there was a Diddy party at Ditty's house, you're
going to Ditty's house. I've seen people scale the wall to get in Ditty's
house. Crazy, I've seen it. But on the other side of that
wall is Beyonce, jay z Nas the Baby. I mean, every big
artist in the world is on the other side of that wall. Or you
want to get over there and sleep with this person. This person is because
what I find interesting about cancel culture is that one thing I know for sure,
if you in these clubs in LA and if you're at these celebrity homes
and parties, people are fighting to get around these people and do all the
dirty ship that they're now claiming has been probatic. And I'm not saying that
nothing's ever happened, because we all know there's toxic people in the industry,
But why did we see get Diddy handcuff and we ain't seen Trump get handcuff?
Why we see Diddy's kids get handcuffed, but we ain't seen Avonka Trump
get handcuffed. These people motivated white folks to climb up the wall at the
Capitol to kill the vice President of United States and take over Congress and stop
an election. Yet they've been treated with white gloves, white because they're white
and I have That's not to say that, you know, Diddy should be
absolved in responsibility, because if Diddy was the devil and he did the dirt,
then he needs to go to jail. But I just feel like what
we're portraying on TV for people to watch, specially specifically young black and brown
people, is that this is the way we're gonna treat you if you make
a mistake, and this is way we're gonna treat the others. And I
think there's something wrong with that, but again, this is America right.
What you're saying, change is free, bo Jason Lee, change, change
you can count on. Do I think that Diddy did it all? I
don't know what do you think? I don't know one thing. He's lost
everything that just read it right now coming in that he's so revoltd He's so
revolt lost, his clothing, Macy's school shut down. What else happened?
Yeah, it offered me a job for somebody was arrested for drugs, the
drug mule, a white one at that. Yeah, a black man got
a white man arrested. This is bad. But you know when they raided
your house in l A and Miami on the same day and the ground your
planet at the same time, they planned that. Ye. Yeah, that
wasn't something they just woke up and thought to do that. That is weeks
and months and years, you know, planned out ahead of time. Scary
times. Yeah, but you know she almost worked with him. Man.
Yeah, wait, last time I was here once you mad that you weren't
at revolt, Well I was it not mad, but like you, I
say, with your checks, like we're not interested in your time, We're
not interested in your time, or God said not gonna take you over there,
because it's like, yeah, I know, it was definitely blessed.
Sometimes that rejection is the protection. I learned that. That's why somebody.
That's why when I Heart said we're no longer gonna renew year contract, it
wasn't Yeah, because they couldn't afford it. Tom listen, Hey, Tom,
you know it wasn't. It wasn't that they couldn't have afford it.
They blamed it on the money. Because when you really want something, you
go find the money. That's my point. Because they give it to what's
the white boy they have been here forever, Ryan Seacrest. You know,
Ryan, Ryan don't need no more money unless he get more fillers in botox.
But it ain't him. What's the other white boy in the uh?
The old one, not him, the other Tom Pulman not are you talking
about un her talent? Yes? I don't want to call anybody old.
Valentine Duran, Elvis, Elvis Durand don't need no more damn money. I
ain't never heard one episode of the Elvis Duran show. I bet I love
Duran, Duran Duran. That's why does Elvis Durant get all the money?
Look, I'll be honest, why he does. It's crazy at he'll take
his audience like Italy. It's like, yo, bro, do he's gonna
afford to? But here's the word, here's the non funny part. We
got to start closing the gap of well in this country and start giving black
and brown shows opportunity, giving black and brown shores more money, give black
and brown shores more access and opulence, because you know what, you teach
people who are watching that white is better and black and brown is not.
And guess what I can say it because I don't work here in Tom poman
No, I text him two weeks ago and let him know they got one
more time to let my name be said on any airwave in iHeartRadio. And
I'm gonna burn this ship all the way to the fucking ground. Okay,
Now, I love everybody, tom No. I'll sip the rose with him
and can on a boat and dance with no shoes on, because that's the
busies. But but, but, but make no mistake about it. I'm
a CEO over here, you ceo over there. And the difference is I
can't get fired by my CEO. I am the CEO, and I just
keep trying to tell people I really this is what I'm really on. I'm
really on. I'ming this equity with everybody. We all deserve the same opportunity.
And the way y'all are burning LA up every day, and I mean
the face of LA here that I saw Elrona like just investing. That's the
way you're investing everyody else because Elvis Durant don't get off the house. No,
I'm not mad at anybody getting more may cover Elvis Durant wedding, miss
birthday, parties, ship, if he watched his car, it's gonna be
on Yo. He's getting my heart. He's getting millions millions to do.
What all I'm saying is that a good show. I do agree that when
people want to pay you, or they see your real worth, they'll find
that money. There's no excuses. But don't make but but let's stop wondering
why they can't find the money and wonder why they can't see the worth.
I agree that right there, I want to get to the root of issue.
The money is not the root money is. Listen, they said they
said we're gonna give you a radio show. On I heard. I said,
Okay, I'm moving to stocking to vote for you. Wait, you're
not gonna give me a radio show. I earned it. So let's start
with the word Okay, I heard. So you're gonna you're gonna provide me
the opportunity to art Okay, cooling cruise. Then then you're gonna launch my
show in fifty markets. It goes major, and when it doesn't, when
there's no rating, it's huge. They won't do that for us, but
they did that for you. That's major, and it goes shade, and
then it goes and then it goes straight to number one, and then we're
going to give you more markets, and then you get to seventy two markets.
But the number of the markets go up, but the money don't.
It's a fundamental problem with that. And you can't tell me to be patient,
because that's what my mother told me when I was in a group home.
That's what they told slave. Slavery gonna be over, just wait on
it. No, I want it now. I'm not waiting for reparations.
Give me what I earn right now, or you don't have the right to
have me and if, if, and any opportunity that I've had. The
other day, me and my staff were talking about ward shows that we own
all this everything came out of people and not giving them my worth or telling
me no. So it's cool they did me a favorite, like did he
did you a favorite? Now you're not getting diety. You're not the mule
on the plane. Why would now? Because you Latino? I'm you know,
he's saving that job for the white boy. Jason Lee Hollywood un Locked.
How can you get involved with your organization, Jason say, I'm giving
you a preview of how I plan to lead when I get in there.
Call it what it is. Black and brown people and Stockton and like in
many communities, are kept, they keep their thumb on them. They're the
most underserved, most early, first forgotten, and least invested in a group
of people. And I'm going to be there now asking the questions and finding
the resource to make that short change. How can they get involved with the
campaign. They can go to Jason leefor Stockton dot com and they can just
hit us up and yeah, we man, it's gonna be a movie in
the general, big movie. Man. Congratulations, Thanks you. Super quick
question before we end this, what has there been something because I know you
said politics is already messy and everybody knows that, but has there been something
that surprised you in politics ever since joining it that you're just like, well,
shit, it is surprising. I think that. My surprise is I
think the voter apathy, like people are just like nothing's gonna change, or
I'm not going to vote, or it's a common thought. It's it's it's
scary, it's sad. But I also understand as I talk to people,
I always end with by the way, everything I tell you I'm gonna do,
I'm gonna do. And this isn't the last time you're going to see
me. And I'm not here to take your vote. I'm here to earn
your trust like I want them. Like. Rebuilding trust is a real thing
because voter apathy right now is at an all time high. And I think
even going into like the presidential stuff, the conversations people are having right now
about who they gonna vote for this and that I understand people and why they
want to vote for Trump because he's like that reality show candidate that right now
in the ZEUS world, ZEUS Network world, that's what we want is somebody
who's out there giving us entertainment. Be careful what you entertained, because once
you entertain and it gets in there, you can't get it out, you
know. It's a that's a scary thing. And yeah, a lot of
big decisions in him this year. Yes, sir, We're with you every
step of the way. Jason Lee Cruise Show Real ninety two three, let's
go by the way. I also love you Tom Polleman, and iHeart but
y'all fumble the backs. Hey Jack and Richard the Cruse Show. Thanks for
listening to The Cruise Show podcast. Make sure to subscribe and hey, auto
download so you don't miss an episode. So